Monday, November 26, 2012

Check out this nauseating tweet from the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins:

What Perkins is referring to is the Ugandan anti-gay bill which would give persecute people in that country simply for being gay. This awful bill may pass the Ugandan Parliament very soon. When it initially introduced, the bill contained a provision for the death penalty. According to Think Progress:

Many news outlets — notably the BBC,
among others — reported last week that lawmakers had dropped the death
penalty provision, but without confirmation of a language change, it’s
impossible to conclude whether this is another bait-and-switch that
basically isn’t true.

According to the BBC, “substantial amendments” were made, but MP
Medard Segona could provide no further details. It is just such a
proposed amendment that has repeatedly caused confusion about the fate
of the death penalty in the bill, replacing the word “death” with a reference to a preexisting Penal Code Act that does
allow for the death penalty. Homosexuality is already illegal in
Uganda; the sole purpose of this bill is to enhance the extent of the
punishment and number of ways offenses can be prosecuted. It is
irresponsible to suggest that the death penalty has been removed without
a thorough investigation of the bill’s new language.

Think Progress also points out that the site Box Turtle Bulletin"dissected the bill" and found some alarming facts, including:

Clause 4: Anyone Can “Attempt to Commit Homosexuality”.
All you have to do is “attempt” to “touch” “any part of of the body”
“with anything else” “through anything” in an act that does “not
necessarily culminate in intercourse.”

Clauses 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10: How To Get Out Of Jail Free. The bill is written to openly encourage — and even pay — one partner to turn state’s evidence against another.

Clauses 7, 11, and 14: Straight People In The Crosshairs.
Did you think they only wanted to jail gay people? They’re also
targeting family members, doctors, lawyers, and even landlords.

But apparently Perkins and FRC doesn't see this as persecution. That's bad enough.

However, we get into seriously ugly territory when we see the following on FRC's homepage:

If, while on FRC's homepage, you clicked on that graphic, you would be taken to a page entitled
The Cry of the Martyrs: The Threat to Religious Liberty Around the World.

The page includes a webcast and information and links regarding the worldwide persecution of Christians worldwide. One link, Voice of the Martyrs, includes stories of Christians being persecuted in other countries. The page is also called A Global Perspective on the Persecution of God's Children.

That confuses me. I thought we were all God's children.

Let me be clear. No one should be attacked or persecuted because of their religious beliefs. And by that same token, no one should be attacked or persecuted because of their sexual orientation.

Hate is hate and violence fueled by that hate is just as wrong when it is aimed at a Christian, a gay or lesbian, or a gay or lesbian Christian.

There is no difference between the two. And any true Christian person or organization would recognize this.

So perhaps Perkins and FRC would be best advised to hush up before they drown out the voices of the true Christians.

Hypocrisy on its own is bad enough. Brazen hypocrisy, particularly on the part of people calling themselves Christians, leaves an especially pungent stench.

It looks like potential same-sex families may have a serious upcoming problem due to the Michigan legislature. According to Equality Michigan:

Extremists in the Michigan House of Representatives have scheduled a hearing on November 27th for a bill in the House Committee on Families, Children, and Seniors, which would allow adoption agencies the ability to deny an adoption placement based on that agency's moral or religious beliefs. However, the bill acknowledges that denying a couple based on religious or moral convictions does not imply "that the proposed adoption is not in the best interests of the adoptee."

Additionally, the bill protects public funding for agencies choosing to discriminate.
Giving any government-funded agency a license to discriminate is immoral and unethical. With 14,000 children in Michigan seeking a safe home to prosper in, our focus should be on cultivating stable environments to raise these children, and not turning away capable and willing families eager to love and support a child in need. The strength of one's convictions alone is not justification in and of itself for any action - it is a despicable excuse for damaging another human being.
The fact that the proposed bill specifically states that this biased filter does not imply the couple are unfit to adopt shows this is merely providing a license to discriminate based on an unlimited array of arbitrary criteria and not actually an attempt to protect children.

The primary sponsor, Representative Kenneth Kurtz (R-Coldwater), is wasting our money on a bill which does nothing to help the 14,000 children residing in foster care in Michigan. Rather than addressing that actual problem, they are fabricating a new one by offering this vile solution.

As far as I know right now, this is purely a legislative move, rather than one finagled by religious right groups. However, one wonders as this situation gains attention, just how many so-called pro-family groups will come sniffing.

The bill itself is ridiculous but any inclusion of religious right groups would make it worse because it would be yet another attack on gay families thus revealing yet again the contradiction behind the mindsets of these groups who attack the gay community.

Allow me to explain - some believe that based upon religious grounds, homosexuality is a sin and should be not looked at positively, but instead should be shied away or stamped out in all forms. This includes pro-gay laws, actions which would protect our lgbt children from bullying, and anything that would advance same-sex families.

The problem with this idea is that when they do this, these folks (whether they be by themselves or formed in groups) who have a religious belief against homosexuality are acting as the aggressors because they are demanding that their personal beliefs be codified in law, regardless of the fact that there are millions who do not believe as they do.

Lastly, when they can't turn to this, they create false media panics, such as this one - i.e. adoption agencies should not be "forced" to violate their own personally held beliefs, even if this means they are allowed to discriminate against same-sex households even if said households pose no danger to children and that there are many children waiting to be placed in good homes.

This is the grand contradiction of the religious right when it comes to homosexuality - in order to hold what they feel God's commandment against homosexuality, they willingly break His commandment against lies, deception, and bearing false witness.

It makes as much sense as tossing a pocketful of dollar bills up into the air and expecting more than you tossed in the air to land magically in your hand.

We should all keep our eyes on Michigan. It may be a bellwether for future actions against gay families.

About Me

Alvin McEwen is 46-year-old African-American gay man who resides in Columbia, SC.
McEwen's blog, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters, and writings have been mentioned by Americablog.com, Goodasyou.org, People for the American Way, PageOneQ.com, The Washington Post, Raw Story, The Advocate, Media Matters for America, Crooksandliars.com, Thinkprogress.org, Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish, Melissa Harris-Perry, The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, Newsweek, The Daily Beast, The Washington Blade, and Foxnews.com.
In addition, he is also a past contributor to Pam's House Blend,Justice For All, LGBTQ Nation, and Alternet.org. He is a present contributor to the Daily Kos and the Huffington Post,
He is the 2007 recipient of the Harriet Daniels Hancock Volunteer of the Year Award and the 2010 recipient of the Order of the Pink Palmetto from the SC Pride Movement as well as the 2009 recipient of the Audre Lorde/James Baldwin Civil Rights Activist Award from SC Black Pride. In addition, he is a three-time nominee of the Ed Madden Media Advocacy Award from SC Pride.